I think I had my world rocked. Not a lot, but enough to get my attention. I wasn't quite prepared for what I encountered there. Now, I have always been kind of an "outside the lines" kind of guy. Conforming to the accepted status quo of the church or the culture never clicked with me. So I was prepared to deal with Christians who fit more into the subculture elements. What I didn't expect was to encounter it to the degree that was there. A certain amount of it has always been fine with me, but there was always a fuzzy line that the other side of seemed to be more seeking after the pleasing the flesh than expressing a commitment to Jesus.
I still think there is a degree of self-seeking that goes on here, but I think it is not significantly different from other expressions of the same thing. I have seen this across the spectrum of society. I also think a certain amount of it is normal with the youth as they seek to find who God created them to be and where they fit.
What rocked me was seeing these same people on their face before God. The opportunity to talk with some musicians in the screamo and metal groups that were genuinely seeking to minister to people they would never otherwise reach. To see that these people genuinely loved Jesus and wanted to serve Him is what rocked me. It left me with no choice but to accept them and their choices, even if I don't make those same choices for myself.
Still, I think there are bounds outside of which we are no longer seeking to serve Jesus and represent Him to the world. These bounds can't be defined in a legalistic sense. Its defined in the heart attitude. Its not necessarily what you are doing or what you look like. Its who you are doing it for and why.
Note to self: It's not WHAT. It's WHO and WHY.
I still think there is a degree of self-seeking that goes on here, but I think it is not significantly different from other expressions of the same thing. I have seen this across the spectrum of society. I also think a certain amount of it is normal with the youth as they seek to find who God created them to be and where they fit.
What rocked me was seeing these same people on their face before God. The opportunity to talk with some musicians in the screamo and metal groups that were genuinely seeking to minister to people they would never otherwise reach. To see that these people genuinely loved Jesus and wanted to serve Him is what rocked me. It left me with no choice but to accept them and their choices, even if I don't make those same choices for myself.
Still, I think there are bounds outside of which we are no longer seeking to serve Jesus and represent Him to the world. These bounds can't be defined in a legalistic sense. Its defined in the heart attitude. Its not necessarily what you are doing or what you look like. Its who you are doing it for and why.
Note to self: It's not WHAT. It's WHO and WHY.
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